In the case of a draining wound, it is often necessary to change the absorbent medium in the wound on a twelve hour or more frequent basis, since the absorbent becomes saturated with fluid. In the past, where the covering media comprises a transparent dressing, such as Polyskin, a trademark of The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass., has certain advantages, such as serving as a bacterial barrier, and a barrier to fluid. These advantages apply both to the care of protecting the wound from outside contaminants and to protecting the patient's healthy skin from the wound exudate. In addition, such a dressing helps maintain a moist environment where desiccation can be detrimental.
However, there is a disadvantage to changing this type of dressing, which has adhesive on a first surface thereof, twice a day, since the skin to which it is attached becomes "tape stripped" by repeated removal of the adhesive dressing. This procedure irritates the skin, and affects its natural barrier. Also, such a dressing does not have the ability to handle wound fluid, since the fluid builds up in a pressure bubble beneath the dressing, which tends to undermine the adhesive seal to the skin, and can lead to contamination of the wound by skin organisms.